Turtles

The other day I whipped up another batch of homemade Turtles. They didn't last long. I'm trying really hard to not make another batch. I don't want to start making these on a regular basis as I'm pretty sure my waistline won't approve of consuming so many of these. But man, are they so freakin' yummy! And judging from how quickly they were gobbled up at Brett's company BBQ, I'd say that they're quite the crowd pleaser too. With school starting soon, and the holidays just around the corner, I thought I would share the recipe (although I'm sure you could just Google it without me blogging about it). I'm thinking placed in a pretty (food safe) container and it would make for a nummy hostess, teacher, or last-minute gift. I think they'd be a great addition to a school bake sale (but make sure offering nuts are allowed!!) or even the dessert table at the next get-together.

Or you could just make a batch and hoard them for yourself. I won't tell. I just might do that the next time I make these.

Pretzel Turtles

adapted from allrecipe.com

First, gather your goods:

- Mini pretzels

- Rolo chocolates (or any other chocolate covered caramel candies)

- Pecan halves

- Butter (salted or unsalted, doesn't matter...I did unsalted cause that's the only butter I ever have in the house)

- White chocolate (this is optional and therefore not pictured in the above photo)

You can make however many you want, just make sure that you have equal amounts of pretzels, Rolos, and pecans.

Now, you can bypass the toasting of the pecans but I will put it out there that toasting them definitely makes the pecans go from "meh" to "oh yeah, baby!". Want to step it up a notch and make those pecans extraordinary? Toss those bad boys in some melted butter (for 40 pecans I used about a tablespoon of butter) 'til evenly coated, spread in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake in a 350 degree oven for 5-7 minutes until aromatic. Let cool. Seriously, toasting the pecans in butter they make quite a difference. Like my friend Jennifer says, everything is better with butter!

Ok, so while those boyos are cooling down turn down the heat of the oven to 300 degrees and then arrange the pretzels in a single layer on another baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place a Rolo (or whatever substitute that you're using) on each pretzel and bake for 4 minutes. Just a heads up: the Rolos aren't going to look like a melted mess of goo when you take them out of the oven. If anything they look a little glossy. Don't be fooled by this and think you need to stick them back in the oven to melt them some more.

While the Rolos are still warm, quickly press a pecan half into the Rolo. You don't have to squish it down all the way, just enough so that the Rolo will spread out a bit and cover the pretzel. Let these yummy morsels cool completely.

Now you can leave them like this and they will still be mighty tasty. But c'mon. Look at them. They look boring! They'll never catch anyone's eye, especially if they're surrounded by cupcakes, crumbles, and cakes! Hells no! Time to bring out the big guns and give these some pizzazz!

Ooohhh yeah. Now we're talking. Melt some white chocolate in a double boiler and using a pastry bag (or in my case a small Ziplock bag with a corner snipped) drizzle the chocolate all over. Then let cool completely before storing in an air-tight container.

So now who's going to be everybody's favourite person for the next 15 minutes?? That's right honey. You are! Make sure you save a few for yourself. I forgot to do that for the BBQ (mind you, I was running late) and only got to snag a few before they were snatched up by everyone else. These are SO insanely good with a nice cup of coffee...during your little one's nap...while you take a moment to knit. Mmmmm...pure heaven, right there!

Weekend Treats

This past weekend was a busy one. With the summer days dwindling down and September being just right around the corner, the Munchkin and I made it our mission to enjoy the nice warm sun as much as we could. So this meant a lot of time was spent playing road hockey, running around at the playground, and taking a stroll around the brett is awesome inner harbour. When it got too hot out or when we needed some down time, we made some treats. I dipped into my marshmallow and made some Rice Krispie treats, and since we had an extra bunch of bananas on hand I decided to make some Mini Chocolate Dipped Bananas again. Yes, I said again. I made them a few weeks ago but forgot to blog about them. They were absolutely deeee-lish!! I used this recipe by Joy the Baker. Last time I used baking chocolate to coat the bananas (yeah, what was I thinking??) and it tasted just ok. Nothing to write home about. So this time I made sure to buy some nice chocolate that I'd be willing to eat on its own, and boy, did that ever work. This batch of dipped bananas didn't even last a day!

If anyone is wanting to make a batch themselves, I highly recommend using bananas that are either almost or just ripe. You definitely don't want overly ripe bananas as they'll be way too soft and won't stay on the lollipop sticks well. Another tip: don't let your 2 year old son take random bites from different bananas, unless you want them super mini.

I also recommend eating these within a few days of making them. If left in the freezer too long they get really mushy and gross and they kinda shrivel up a bit. Not really an appetizing sight.

The Munchkin loved these, not only was he able to "help" (ok, he really enjoyed using the rolling pin to smash up the peanuts and his idea of dipping was putting as many bananas as he could in the chocolate) but he gobbled these up. To tell you the truth I think he only liked them cause they were on lollipop sticks. Oh, and because chocolate was involved. I think next time I want to try s'mores pops. That's right. I said s'mores. On a stick. Now those could be deadly. I mean, chocolate covered marshmallows sprinkled with graham cracker crumbs?? No, scratch that. Chocolate covered toasted marshmallows sprinkled with graham cracker crumbs. Oh yeah. Now we're talking.

Anyhoo, let's move on before I start to completely salivate all over my keyboard. Aside from being outside as much as possible, and from mine and Brett's (long and tiring) work schedules, I also had a really good friend in town for a visit. My wonderful friend, Leana, was on the island for about a week. She lives up North and I rarely get to see her, so whenever I do get the chance it's quite the treat. I was super happy to find out that her brother has moved back to the Victoria area and because of that Leana will be making more visits!! Yay! Now I'll be able to see her more than once a year! Every time she's here we always go out for afternoon tea and pub eats, as well as venture out to explore Oak Bay (her favourite area). This visit was no different. We enjoyed some yummy 2-for-1 fish and chips at the Penny Farthing, window shopped around Oak Bay, played Marble Run with the Munchkin, enjoyed some sun on the patio, and had some great conversations. I can't wait for her next visit!

Because the weekend was so full, I had missed out on Fibrations that took place on Sunday. I'm really hoping that it was a success and that it'll happen again next year. So far, from what I've heard and read, it was a success and a ton of fun. So sad that I missed out! I think in order to compensate for missing this event I should indulge myself in some yarny goodness once my yarn diet is over. Just to clarify: August was the month of my yarn diet, and I've been really good and have been abstaining from making any yarn purchases. But for those of you who know me and are friends with me on Ravelry and have seen me update my stash page a few times this month (ahem, people like Natalie and Jennifer!!), I'm still receiving yarn purchased/swapped last month. Those yarns were not purchased during the month of August!

So I think once September rolls around I should treat myself to some yummy yarn...ooohhh...let the yarny daydreams begin! 'Til then, I should really get off my butt and do some knitting (something I wasn't able to do much of over the weekend), since this coming weekend will be even more busy!

Happy knitting! ♥

Sugar High

My local grocery store (it's Thrifty's for those of you who'd want to know) has been doing an ongoing Bogo event, so far I have stocked up on not only the essentials like fresh chicken breast and beans, but on stuff that I know I'll use sometime down the road...like ice cream and marshmallows. We like our treats to be homemade around here and so a package of marshmallows have already been immediately used to make pan of Rice Krispie squares. I was hoping to save the other bags (yes, I said bags...with an "s"!) for when fall/winter rolls around and the hot chocolate is flowing. Or when another pan of Rice Krispie squares are in order. But thanks to my baking idol, Joy the Baker, I've been making a ton of Toasted Marshmallow Milkshakes!! You can find the recipe here. But let me forewarn you...these are highly addictive!! I've been making them all week...and I'm lactose intolerant!

The first few attempts at making this milkshake didn't result in milkshakes at all. Why? Look at these bad boys!!

Freakin' yummy!! Yeah, these marshmallows didn't go anywhere near ice cream, that's for sure! Instead they went from the baking pan straight into my mouth!! I'm not ashamed to admit this. Really, I'm not. Anyhoo, I'm not as fortunate as Joy to have a gas range (although, I did have one in my last place...and boy, do I ever miss that stove terribly. Along with the convection oven that made my baking turn out in pure perfection) so I had to toast my marshmallows in the oven. I'm definitely not a fan of this method, since the marshmallows can't keep their shape after the toasting process but it's definitely faster than having to toast them one at a time. Another thing I didn't do: I didn't use my blender. It's so heavy and such a hassle to wash that I decided to save the trouble and just use my trusty hand-held immersion mixer. Man, I love that thing!

When I finally did stop eating the marshmallows long enough to make the milkshakes, the first attempt was a little iffy. I got really impatient (and was sooo tempted to shove the marshmallows into my mouth!) and didn't let the marshmallows cool down enough before dropping them into my bowl. Note to self: warm marshmallows will clump up into a sugary mass when it hits the cold ice cream! I let it sit for another minute and tried again. The results? Pure heaven. In a glass!

Next time, I think I'll give this recipe a try...

PS: I promise there will be some yarny goodness in my next post!

Jam

I can't believe that it's Tuesday already! How fast the weekend goes by! It was a beautiful weekend here and a lot of time was spent outside. Well, kinda...when the Munchkin would let us. You see, the Munchkin has really bad eczema and right now he's dealing with a pretty bad flare up. So sun and heat exposure is making him quite uncomfortable and down right crabby, and regardless of how much sunscreen we put on him or how much we try to cover him up the sun is making his eczema worse. To make sure that he at least gets some fresh air we've been having balcony picnics and playtime throughout the day and I've been taking him out around dinner time, when the sun isn't hot enough to make him a miserable toddler.

On Saturday there was a big exception. Since the James Bay Community Market is literally right outside our front door, we decided to take advantage of the live music, the kids tent (which the Munchkin absolutely loves!), and...the major tent action throughout the entire market. Yay for coverage from the sun! The hardest part of it all is trying to get the Munchkin to go back home for nap time. Most people I know think he's too old to have a nap or that skipping a nap here and there won't do any damage. Well, trust me when I say that the Munchkin needs his naps. If he doesn't have one he becomes quite the grumpy terror! I'm talking tantrums galore where everything and anything can set them off. Believe me, it's not worth it to let him skip/end his naps!!

Anyhoo, ever since the market opened up in May I've been meaning to look for homemade jams but for some reason never got around to doing so. I think it's because the market is open every Saturday until October and I figured I would have plenty of time to get jam. Then a few weeks ago I noticed a stall selling nothing but jams. I immediately recognized the stall set-up and got excited. At Christmas I went to a craft fair and had bought some amazing Blueberry Cherry Jam from Whimsical Preserves (sorry, they don't have a website) and had wished I had bought more than one jar. So when I saw their stall you better believed that I high-tailed it over there and got some! I also picked up a jar of peach jam cause I love homemade jams that have chunks of fruit, and boy, this jam did not disappoint!

I'm going to have to remember to pick up some more before the market closes for the season. Not that I'll forget...it's only been 3 days since I bought these jars and already one of them is half empty!! I definitely must learn how to make my own jam...and fast! If you're in the area, you should definitely hunt down Whimsical Preserves and give their jams and chutneys a try. They're so yummy!!

On a non-jam related note: a little bit of knitting did happen over the weekend. Sadly, there was also a lot of un-knitting going on too. I kinda don't want to talk about it cause it makes me a little mad, but basically I picked up a project started months ago and was determined to get it finished by the time the weekend was over. I underestimated how much yarn I had left and tried to keep going and now I've run out. I tinked back and tried to bind off, only to discover that the recommended bind off uses a helluva lot of yarn. I was a quarter away from the end when I ran out of yarn. Again. I seriously want to rip out my needles and drop kick this project as far as I can. I should really take a step back and take a breather, but I really want to get this project done. Cause I'm done with it. I'm hoping the next time I talk about this project it'll be an FO post.

Or it'll go back to being a ball of yarn. Shoved into the darkest corner of my closet.

Peanut Butter Bacon Time!

Yesterday I mentioned that I did some cookie baking over the weekend. One of the cookies that I made was requested by Brett, which I was happy to oblige to since it was part of his birthday present. The cookies: Peanut Butter Bacon.

That's right, I said peanut butter and bacon in the same sentence...in the same cookie. I first learned about such a cookie combo from Joy the Baker's blog and had mentioned it to Brett. I was definitely intrigued by the recipe and Brett was drooling over the fact that you can make his favourite treat out of his 2 favourite flavours. I used Joy's recipe from off her blog and followed it to a T. I loved the fact that there were only 5 ingredients involved and neither of them was butter or flour!

Definitely pay attention to the peanut butter that you use and that it's an all-natural one. No sugars added since you'll be adding a cup of sugar. If I were to ever make these again (and really, the only time I would is if Brett asked...I'm not a peanut butter cookie person myself), I would definitely cut down the sugar amounts since we both found the cookies to be quite sweet. Also, don't forget to stir the peanut butter in the jar before measuring it out, since natural PB has a tendency to separate from its natural oils. One of the things I learned from watching countless hours of Food Network: spray your measuring cup with Pam or vegetable spray before measuring PB, molasses, honey, or any other sticky substance of that nature. Makes getting the stuff out of the cup SO easy.

I've personally never baked PB cookies before this (like I said before, I'm not a fan) but have been in the kitchen when others were making some. Yet I was still surprised at the consistency of the dough and had a hard time trying to figure out if the cookies were done or not. These are definitely not the kind of cookies you can steal off of the baking sheet to eat while they are still piping hot, cause they definitely need the cooling time to set up. Ask me how I know.

Both Brett and I had no idea how these were going to taste. It could have gone 2 ways, either extremely delicious or extremely disgusting. Luckily for us, it was the former. The PB definitely definitely over-powers your taste buds but I find that the bacon gives a nice smoky depth to the overall flavour. Brett likes them, I'm a little "meh" about them. Although, while these bad boys were baking I have to admit that the house smelled so incredibly good! I think this recipe is more of a novelty item more than anything. Oh well, they were fun to bake!

What have you been baking lately?

Bananas

Not much crafting has been taking place around here these past few days, but there has definitely been a lot of baking! Unfortunately it's nothing exciting...just a lot of banana bread. A lot. Both Brett and I have been bringing home bunches of bananas without realizing that the other has bought some, and so there is a plethora of bananas in the house. As much as the Munchkin loves bananas, there's only so much he can eat. So what do you do with overly ripe bananas? Why, you make bread, of course!

The first batch I baked I used these little diamond-shaped silicon cups that I got for Christmas, which produces the perfect little nuggets for little toddlers to munch on. Or, to scarf down in 2 bites if you're an adult (coughBrettcough). That first batch had last not even a full day and the Munchkin was all disappointed the next day when he woke up to find all the wee breads were gone. So Mama to the rescue and another batch was quickly whipped up. With help from the Munchkin, of course. And by help I mean he rested his hand on mine while I used the hand-held mixer and then he slobbered over the side of the bowl (to get as close as possible) when I switched to stirring with a wooden spoon. This last batch is almost gone but I'm sure I'll be baking up another round in the next day or two. I've been using my Mom's recipe and halving the half recipe (she normally bakes about 6-8 loaves at a time). But the recipe on Mae's blog is pretty much spot on to my Mom's.

I'm really hoping that I'll be able to get back into knitting again soon. I was playing around with the Munchkin a few days ago and while he was holding onto my right index finger he fell awkwardly, causing my finger to twist in a weird way. Now my finger constantly hurts and it's making knitting slightly uncomfortable. I was also hoping to get some sewing done this week but realized that my supply of fusing has been reduced to scraps...and trust me, fusing is one of those things that you just don't try to patchwork together. Hopefully I can re-stock my supply this weekend and get sewing while I have the urge to do so. In the meantime, I'm going to eat a slice of banana bread.

Hello, Martha?

The other day I baked bread, using this recipe. Didn't know that I could make bread, did you? It's the same recipe I used to make this bread in this post. The only difference is that this time I made it exactly as the recipe says to. Only because I didn't have any whole wheat flour in the cupboards like I thought I did. Who knows, maybe that's why this loaf turned out so big and fluffy? I should have baked it 10 minutes longer cause smack dab in the middle the bread was slightly under-baked. You couldn't really tell if you were dunking the bread in something saucy or slathered it in homemade jam, but on its own you can kinda taste the gummy yeasty-ness of it. Either way, we ate around the middle and it was delicious. Especially when served with chili.

Oh yeah, did I mention that I also made chili? Brett and I have been on a chili kick, and so I've been making huge batches at least once a week for the past month. Talk about a food obsession! Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos of the chili. But trust me when I say it was oh so yummy too! I managed to time it so that the bread was mixed and was able to proof all day and night the evening before I made the chili, had it baking while I was prepping chili ingredients (and while making a quick batch of Rice Krispie treats!), and since the dutch oven I had used to bake the bread in was relatively clean (minus some leftover flour) I started cooking up the chili. Ahhh...so this is what it feels like to be a domestic goddess. Or Martha Stewart.

Cinnamon Roll Muffins

As I've mentioned in my last post a few days ago I had made cinnamon roll muffins. Not only were they insanely easy to make but they were also insanely delicious to boot! My friend Mae had talked about and introduced me to the baking blog, Joy the Baker, which a ton of fabulous recipes and absolutely gorgeous food photos accompanying each recipe (and sometimes step by step photo instructions!). Every time I check out this blog I get incredibly hungry and wish that Joy herself would just adopt me already so that I could gorge on her yummy baking. I also love the way that Joy writes, it's like talking to your cool older sister or your best friend. I think she's hilarious.

Anyways, back to the cinnamon roll muffins. I had originally intended on making Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls using this recipe. But after realizing that not only do I not have the time to knead and proof dough, but I was feeling a bit too impatient to even have to wait that long for such nummy treats. That's when I discovered the alternative route suggested by Joy, for those (like me) who are either too lazy and/or lacking time. So I used this recipe for the muffin version.

Don't let the muffin term fool you though. This ain't no fluffy wannabe knock-off. Oh no. This so-called muffin could totally pass for the real deal. It's just more...portion controlled. Yeah. The only thing I would do differently next time I make this recipe (cause you bet I'm going to make these again!!) would be to make a cream cheese icing, rather than the simple confectioners' sugar and milk icing called for in the recipe. Oh, and I would definitely swirl in the brown sugar and butter mix into the dough so that you wouldn't be caught off guard biting into a thick chunk of brown sugar. It is because of this very reason that Brett wasn't a fan after taking his first bite into one of these little heavenly morsels. After much convincing he agreed to test out another muffin, and this time it was met with appreciation. Phew! Even the Munchkin liked them, so how could Brett not like them? Mind you, I can't really depend on the Munchkin's tastes, since he's also willing to eat a 2 week old piece of broccoli that he found under the base heater in the kitchen (gross, I know!).

Next time though, I'm thinking I shouldn't half-ass it and might as well go big or go home. Yeah, next time, I'm gonna make the real deal.

They didn't have any houses left

I can't believe it's Christmas Eve already!! Where has the time gone? I feel like I'm going to blink sometime today and Christmas morning will have already passed! Anyways, Brett and I have begun a Christmas tradition 3 years ago to build a gingerbread house together a few days leading up to Christmas day. I'm actually pretty excited that next year the Munchkin will be old enough and able to partake in this tradition.

This year though, since December had seriously snuck up on us, we ended up purchasing a gingerbread kit late in the game. So for that, all the gingerbread houses were sold out and we had to settle for the train kit instead. It was still fun to do, but the entire time Brett and I kept exclaiming how the kit was crap, "how the hell did they get their lines so tiny?", and "this isn't lots of candy!". Yeah, note to self: must purchase a gingerbread house kit the second you see one in the shops!! The train just didn't cut it.

So with all that said, here's what the train on the box looks like:

It's not a house, but not bad either, right? Seems like it would be loads of fun.

Well, this is what ours looked like:

Now that I truly look at it, I guess it's not so bad looking after all. But last night it was definitely a fail for both Brett and I. Maybe because we are used to doing a house, made by a different company. The kit we made came with 2 bags of royal icing, which is utterly awesome since we're always running out before the house is finished, but one of them just wasn't softening up. Thus causing major glooping action. Before I sound completely negative, Brett and I did giggle the entire time and lamented our excitement for next year when the Munchkin can exercise his gingerbread decorating creativity.

This morning when the kidlet woke up and sat at the kitchen table and saw the train, the look on his face was worth the shoddy kit and train decorating skills. There's nothing like the sound of your toddler's laugh and glee and knowing that this is the best thing he's ever seen to make this experience do a complete and total 180. Thank you Munchkin!!

It's an Irish Creamy Fudge Kind of Day

Hello lovely Blog Friends! It seems like my posts are getting further and further apart lately. I think this has a lot to do with my lack of exciting events and things to report (due to my very boring life), and the lack of crafting. My weekend and week thus far have been uneventful (except for the Santa Claus Parade on Saturday) and have been riddled with errands, catching up, and pure exhaustion (on my part).

I did, however, make some fudge last night. Irish Cream fudge, to be exact. I used this recipe after reading a Ravelry forum about making sweet treats for swapping. I thought maybe I should try my hand at making something sweet (but not for swapping, I'm too selfish to share my sweets!). The recipe is quite easy, that is, until the Munchkin realized that I wasn't watching him dance his fancy dance moves, which was quickly remedied by letting him "type" away on the laptop to a program called Baby Type. So while he was busy talking and typing some serious stuff, I was able to pull off this fudge making.

Ok, I'll admit, the end product is absolutely delicious. A bit rich and quite sweet. But nonetheless, utterly dee-lish. With that said, I think I screwed up a step. On her show, Sugar, Anna Olson pours the fudge into a pan before letting it cool down and set. Mine, on the other hand, hand to be scooped out of the bowl and spread out in the pan, before letting it cool and set. I think having to sift the huge chunks of confectioners' sugar big time was probably letting the fudge cool down before I had the chance to put it in the pan. Note for next time: pre-sift the sugar. And maybe reduce the confectioners' sugar by a 1/4 cup.

Did I say next time? You bet I did! So my version doesn't look smooth and creamy, but that doesn't mean it ain't yummy. Even Brett thinks it's good, and who knows, maybe he's just doing his "gotta-make-Mommy-happy" duties. All I know is that I can't stop munching on this!

Nudge, nudge, where's the fudge?

In my tummy!!

(Sorry, I think I'm having a major sugar rush...)

Caramel Baked Apples

The weekend had come and gone so quickly that I can't believe that it's already Thursday! Where did the week go?? I'm blaming the memory loss of the past few days due to the early nights and mornings that I've had all weekend, and to the utterly random fever that the Munchkin had yesterday. It was quite weird really. The Munchkin was having a pretty normal day until 4pm rolled around. We were outside playing when he all of a sudden he just had to have me pick him up so that he could lay his sweet head down on my shoulder. He became very quiet and didn't want to be outside at all any more. Which is really weird since there's usually a fight to get him to go back in the house. But back in the house we went. Again, it was unusually weird that the Munchkin remained so quiet and didn't put up a fight over anything. He did cry when I tried to put him down, so instead I played Toy Story while I held him. Sitting there watching the movie, I literally felt the wave of the fever hit, moving from his head all the way to the tip of his cute little toes. My poor baby! Yet this morning he woke up and everything was as if that fever had never happened. Odd. Very odd indeed.

I didn't get up to much over the weekend. I did some knitting but my hands started to get sore, so I stopped for a bit. I did some sewing, but nothing exciting to blog about (I was fixing a zipper on a dress). I did some quasi-baking though. I had taken one of those free magazines that Thrifty's offer at their check-outs. Inside was a recipe for caramel baked apples that had peaked my interest. Brett isn't a fan of dessert, so I rarely get the chance to make anything dessert-like. The recipe was fairly simple and consisted of ingredients that I already had in my pantry. I was a little nervous about the outcome for reasons unknown, and Brett had admitted (after he had inhaled his bowlful) that he wasn't sure if he would like what I was baking up. Solely because our tastes in sweets are very different. We were both pleasantly surprised that the dish came out completely yummy and had left us licking our glasses for every last bit! Unfortunately my photos don't do the dessert any justice. It was night, I had really craptastic lighting, and I think my camera is on the verge of dying. I'd be surprised if it'll last 'til the end of the year.

For those of you who are curious, love apples, love apple pie, aren't a fan of crusts, have a sweet tooth, or all of the above, here's the recipe:

Caramel Baked Apples
(serves 4)

• 3 tbsp butter
• 1/3 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar
• 1 tsp flour
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 4 medium-sized apples, halved and cored
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup pecan pieces
• 4 mint sprigs, for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place 2 tbsp of butter and brown sugar in a small pot and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar melts. Mix in flour until well combined. Very slowly whisk in the cream. Bring mixture to a simmer and simmer 1 to 2 minutes, until light;y thickened. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla (make sure this is a good quality vanilla, cause it plays a huge roll in how the caramel tastes!).

Brush the bottom of a 9"x13" baking pan with the remaining butter.

Place the apples, lemon juice, and cinnamon in a bowl and toss to coat. Arrange apples in the baking pan, cut side up. Spoon the caramel sauce over the apples, sprinkle with pecans, cover pan with foil, and bake about 40 minutes, or until the apples are just tender.

Set 2 apple halves in a bowl, spoon sauce over top, and garnish with a sprig of mint. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!

I halved the recipe, since it was going to be only me and Brett enjoying the treat. I served the apples with some vanilla ice cream in martini glasses, since I don't have actual dessert bowls. I didn't have fresh mint on hand, so I sprinkled a few broken pecan pieces on top and then used a whole pecan as my garnish. Brett made me promise that I would make this again this weekend, it was that good. A few days after making this, even I was still thinking about it! I definitely think this recipe is a keeper!

Knitting Season

It's raining out. It's also grey, cold, and miserable. Fall is definitely here. Which means the knitting is in full force. And so is the comfort food.

Last night I made a huge pot of chili so that there would be enough leftovers for a few days. The kidlet is taking a nap so I'm going to heat up a bowl, put on the kettle, and curl up on the couch with some knitting.

Only, this knitting isn't for me. I figured that since I'm having such an afternoon of comfort, others out there should also have something of comfort...

I'll talk more about this at a later date. For now, I'm going to take advantage of the Munchkin's nap!

Summer Indulgences

Forgive me, I haven't blogged in a week. I've been feeling quite overly exhausted all week and if I wasn't falling asleep while putting the Munchkin to bed, then I was falling asleep on the couch with my knitting still in my hands. I'm really hoping that this sleepy phase passes uber quick, it's making me feel like such a slacker in so many ways!

In the meantime, there really isn't much to report. My knitting has been slow going (thanks to the aforementioned sleepy state I've been in), which makes for poor blogging material. I did bake some apple pies last weekend, but forgot to take any photos and they were gobbled up pretty fast so I couldn't take follow up photos even if I wanted to. Aside from knitting and the pie baking, I've been doing nothing else but enjoying my favourite summer indulgence: fresh fruit.

I'll admit it. In the summer I tend to have a $10 a day habit. It consists of fresh, in-season fruit. Mainly mangoes, blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries. The past week I've been buying quart cartons of blueberries on a daily basis and have been eating them all in one sitting. Yes, I'm ashamed. But it tastes so good! How can I resist? I'm thinking sometime in the next week or two I should really try my hand at baking a blueberry pie. I'm also thinking of trying something that I've been thinking about doing for a while now...and that's make my own jam. That way I can enjoy the fruits of summer year round! Anyone have an easy peasy jam recipe they'd like to share?

Back to Basil

Ever since the weather has been warming up in these parts I've reverted back to eating lightly and pretty much often raw but fresh foods only. Since basil plants everywhere have been flourishing, I've also gone back to eating everything with basil. Unlike last year's plant, this year's produces small-ish leaves. But tons of them. So I can't complain.

I've been eating my all-time favourite Caprese salads like they're going out of style. The past week and a bit though, I've been substituting strawberries instead of the tomatoes. A version that I had at Becky's house for the Bitchy Bees' potluck. It was so yummy that I had to make it for myself...a few times!!

Brett isn't a fan of salads as a meal. He thinks they are more of a side dish to something that contains some form of protein and a starch. I've tried the whole slices of roasted chicken as a topping and some healthy seeds. Yeah, that didn't fly. So I've been on the lookout for some yummy salad ideas, as all my ideas have been a complete fail. Anyone have any ideas? Or any super easy peasy, yet yummy in the tummy dessert ideas?? Natalie, I'm looking at you...coughSourCreamApplePieRecipecough...

Ok, I'm off. I think I've got some more strawberries in the fridge that need to be eaten with some bocconcini, basil, and balsamic vinegar...

Chocolate-y Goodness

I came to the realization a few days ago that this blog has slowly been deviating away from the "crafty" part and has been turning into a blog about knitting. To those readers who do not knit or know nothing about knitting, I am truly sorry. I swear, I'm trying to venture back out into other crafty endeavors. It's just that trying to find the time to sit down and sew during "normal" hours (i.e. when the wretched neighbour downstairs isn't home to make a fuss about the so-called excessive noise) without the Munchkin around is next to impossible. It's times like these that I really wish I had family around who would be willing to look after him for a few hours a week. I really don't know how other stay-at-home moms do it!

So, until I start living up to my blog's moniker, I give you my latest baking creation: Chocolate Brownie Peanut Butter Cups! I saw the recipe for these in a magazine at the doctor's office a week ago and was finally able to make them for mine and Brett's anniversary this past weekend. I didn't get the chance to write down the recipe, but I did remember that it involved a boxed brownie mix and mini Reece's Peanut Butter Cups. I think the recipe calls for a fudge brownie mix, which my nearest grocery store did not have (not unless I wanted to the low-fat version...but seriously, a low-fat brownie??? What's the point then??). Since the store didn't have what I was looking for I had to settle for the frosted brownie version. The recipe also called for mini aluminum baking cups that are a bit larger than the Reece's PB cups, but since those are hard to find I just used the regular sized aluminum ones instead. I personally don't think it really matters cause either way they come out absolutely full of yummy goodness. You would just get more out of the mini version.

I made these while Brett was at work (so that I could surprise him when he got home) and kinda wished I had waited until he was home cause these are truly the ultimate treat still warm. By the time he did get home they had already cooled down, but that didn't stop him from consuming 3 of these bad boys in a 5 minute span! I think I'll definitely be making these again sometime soon!

You want to make some? Here's how you do it:

You'll need:

1 box of either Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines Brownie Mix - preferably a fudge kind
2 eggs at room temperature
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 package Reece's mini Peanut Butter Cups (you may need more if making the mini version)
1 box of aluminum foil baking cups (the actual recipe calls for the 2" mini ones, I used the large)

- Preheat oven to 350°F.

- Place the baking cups in a muffin tin, or if using the minis place on a baking sheet (the aluminum is strong enough to hold its shape, so it doesn't need the support of a mini muffin tin!)

- Combine brownie mix, along with the contents of the fudge packet from the mix (or in my case, the frosting packet), with the eggs, water, and oil

- Stir with a spoon until well blended (about 50 strokes)

- Fill each cup with 2 tablespoons of batter for the minis, and about 3 tablespoons for the regular size (I made it so that it was about 3/4 full)

- Bake for 10 minutes and remove from oven

- Push 1 unwrapped Reece's PB Cup in the center of each brownie until even with surface

- Bake 5-7 minutes longer (you don't want an over-baked brownie or it'll end up dry!)

- Cool 5-10 minutes in pan, then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Voilá! Enjoy!

Bananas

It's been extremely quiet on the crafting front here, which makes for poor blogging topics. On Saturday Brett started to feel sick and was trying his hardest to fight off whatever it was that wanted to invade his immune system. He lost. On Sunday, his birthday, he had a full-blown flu. Inevitably the Munchkin got a titch of what was plaguing Brett and has been feeling a little under the weather and has been battling a running nose. In true domino effect style I started to feel a little under the weather (not to mention a little depressed since the sun has been MIA the past few days!). I've been spending the majority of my time keeping house, keeping up with laundry demands, playing nurse, and sleeping as much as possible.

Amidst the chaos I managed to bake some more banana bread using the recipe I mentioned from this post. I was going to make banana chocolate chip muffins using Wendy's modifications, but realized that I didn't have any chocolate chips on hand - which was extremely weird cause I always have chocolate chips on hand (I used to bake Brett chocolate chip cookies on a weekly basis...but then again, that was in the pre-Munchkin days). Then I was going to make mini muffins as suggested by Stephanie, but then realized that it would take a little longer to scoop out 30+ spoonfuls of batter to fill up a mini cupcake tray (note to self: must purchase a small ice cream scoop for such occasions!). I didn't have that time. So mini banana loaves it was going to be.

Let's just hope that these loaves last longer than the last one...

Our Daily Bread

I baked this a few days ago after realizing that the Munchkin is a bit particular as to how ripe of a banana he will eat, resulting in us having a bunch of spotty bananas on our kitchen counter. The banana bread is all gone now, with the majority of it eaten within the hours of it coming out the oven. I felt the need to blog about my banana bread solely because I get into these food phases where I become completely obsessed with consuming a certain food. I kid you not. You can ask my past roommates. Once, I was sooo food obsessed with chili that I ate it for 2 months straight. I ate it for lunch, dinner, and sometimes as a snack. Before that, I was on a nachos binge. I ate plates of nachos for a whole month!

So, I thought by blogging about my banana bread that maybe I can break the cycle. The last thing I need is to be obsessed with eating banana bread! I used this recipe from the Williams Sonoma website, but really I have yet to encounter a banana bread recipe that didn't come out yummy. I've always made mine with straight up butter and so I was curious as to how it would taste with the addition of buttermilk that the Williams Sonoma recipe calls for. My verdict: pure yumminess! I'll definitely be using this recipe again when the need/urge to bake banana bread strikes.

In the meantime I still have half a bunch of very ripe bananas that need to get used up. The thought of banana chocolate chip muffins having been popping into my head. I just need to find a recipe for it. But that might be too much work for right now...especially since I already have a bread recipe that I know is great. Hmm, maybe I should just bake another loaf of banana bread...

Scones and Other Foods

I baked these dee-lish Gluten-Free Raspberry Scones the other day after seeing them on Mae's blog and asking her if she could share the recipe. I was a little hesitant at first to try them out, as previous experiences with gluten-free foods have left much to be desired. But I trust Mae's tastes (no pun intended!) and went ahead and baked these bad boys up. And WOW! Am I ever happy that I did! These so beyond delicious that I ate 2 in a row (they were, after all, straight from the oven and oh so fresh and warm!), and the Munchkin LOVED them as well! He kept tugging on my sleeve to give him another bite and when there was no more scone left on my plate he was yanking on my hand to drag me to the kitchen table where the rest of the scones were cooling! I pretty much call these scones "guilt-free baking" since not only are they gluten-free, but they are dairy- and egg-free as well! Besides being vegan to boot, they seriously took only 5 minutes to whip up (that's not including baking time!). I'll definitely be baking these a lot. I'm already thinking of what other fruits I would like to try in this recipe!

I've been thinking a lot about food lately and making changes to my diet and the way I look at food in general. A lot of this has to do with my desire to see if I can control my Graves' ophthalmopathy disease with diet, and the fact that I had watched Food Inc last month and then Super Size Me on the Passionate Eye over the weekend. It's been a few weeks and already I've managed to:

- cut root beer right out of my diet completely (doing that was also one of my 101 goals!)

- cut down on packaged foods quite considerably and have reverted to a mainly whole foods diet

- started packing my own lunch and snacks for work instead of chowing down on the unhealthy and fattening eats that my work has to offer

- cut down on excessive processed sugar

Brett and I already try to buy organic and local as much as possible, and we're currently thinking we should look into local farms so that we can buy properly raised chicken meat. Since watching Food Inc I've been really conscious of everything going into my body, not just for my own personal health, but because I'm also a breastfeeding mother. Having a kid has really put a lot of things in a different perspective, and has got me thinking a lot. So much so that I think I need to make a new 101 goals list!

Hmmm...what's everyone been eating lately?

Sooo...Vanilla!

Last week I accomplished one of my 101 goals: make my own vanilla extract. I've been wanting to do this for quite some time now but never got around to doing so, and since I do a lot of baking and plan on doing a ton of baking this spring/summer I figure it's only fitting to make my own extract now. After some searching on the internets I discovered that the recipe for making vanilla extract is pretty much the same across the board. This is how I made mine:

You'll need:
- Good quality vanilla beans
- Vodka or rum
- An airtight bottle, preferably a glass one

I got my vanilla beans at a local health store. I'm not sure how high quality they are, as they are the same brand that every grocery store I've been to in Victoria carries. The majority of websites I visited used vodka for their extracts so I decided to follow suit. The ratio for bean to vodka varies, but the consensus seems to be a cup of vodka per bean. I had made a really small bottle of a rum version but discovered too late that the cap was faulty, and so when it had somehow tipped over in the cupboard all the rum leaked out. Oh well, I have plenty of the vodka variety to last me pretty much forever. But one day I would like to try out the rum version just to see how much of a difference there is. I couldn't find a small bottle in the house so I decided to just re-use a wine bottle left over from Christmas celebrations. I figured since wine has to be kept airtight then it'll work for this little project. A lot of websites recommend using a mason jar but I don't have any unused ones on the house and didn't really want to buy a case just to use one jar.

Anyways, here's what I did:
Clean your bottle of choice very thoroughly and sterilize. Once your bottle is dried and ready to go, take the vanilla beans and slice the beans in half length-wise, leaving a good inch or two intact at one of the ends (so they look like wishbones). You can't tell in my photo below, but they really are sliced open.

Pop the beans into the bottle and pour in enough vodka to cover the beans completely. Store the bottle in a cool, dark place and shake every few days. After 6-8 weeks you've got vanilla extract ready to be used! Voilà!!

Over time the extract will get darker and more concentrated in flavor. The beauty of making your own extract is that when you are starting to get low all you have to do is add more vodka and vanilla beans and let sit for a few weeks until using again. You basically have a bottle of never ending vanilla extract! How sweet is that?? I added the month and year to my bottle label to see just how long my bottle lasts. I'm also thinking of adding another bean or two to my bottle, as I wouldn't mind having my extract super vanilla-y. And depending on how it works out, maybe transferring it to a smaller bottle. But we'll see. After the "brewing" time is up, I'll take another photo and show you guys how it panned out. I simply cannot wait to give my extract a try!

'Til then, happy baking y'all!!

I want candy!!

I'm not a huge Valentine's Day fan, but I'll use any excuse to be able to decorate the house in pink that I can and not get any slack for it! So since V-day is right around the corner I thought I would make a few V-day related crafts to put around the house. Starting with these bad boys (see above, sorry...the lighting was crap the day I took these photos!). I saw these whilst perusing the Martha Stewart website trying to find cookie recipes. What are they? They're bonbon-filled hearts! Ok, so mine aren't filled with bonbons. I opted to fill mine up with the must-have cinnamon heart candies and large conversation hearts, as well as seasonally wrapped Hershey Hugs and Kisses, jelly beans (in pinks, reds, and white of course!), and just for Brett - peanut M&Ms!

These darling little hearts are super easy to make and are truly easy on the wallet, which is great if you don't want to spend a lot of moola (or any) on decorations for such a day as Valentine's. I used leftover card stock from Christmas and scrapbooking card stock, that for some weird reason I had laying around in my sewing closet. The ribbons were from my stash and all I needed to purchase was the candy. Brett and I are both chocolate lovers and so V-day related sweets were bound to cross our threshold, so I figured why not have a cute way of holding our edible goods (not to mention easy access!) instead of having the stockpile scattered all over the computer desk?

You can find the directions to make your own here. But I must warn you, some steps really aren't clear. Like in step 7: Slide fold A behind fold B. The diagram shows absolutely nothing. So take note that what Martha wants you to do is to align the folded parts that's in the middle together so that they are one and you end up with 2 compartments. Another useful tip: the so-called heart template on the website is a useless thumbnail photo, so what I did was trace the outline of my folded up square (so you know how big your template needs to be) on another piece of paper, cut it out, fold the template paper diagonally so that you have a triangle shape, and draw your own heart. Cut that out and voilà! You've got yourself a template without having to waste a million sheets of paper trying to get Martha's version to match your square.

I like these so much that I'm thinking of getting some pastel colored card stock and making a few for Easter. I'm not sure if I'd cut out a heart shape, maybe turn them into cones and then embellishing them to jazz them up a bit. The beauty of this project is that you can make the holders as big or as small as you want. I can already picture mine holding Cadbury mini eggs, foil-wrapped egg shaped chocolates...and big ones with shredded green paper to cradle decorated eggs...ooohhh...the possibilities!